An expenses scandal erupted in Iraq on Friday after religious leaders hit out at how members of parliament (MPs) secured themselves numerous lavish perks while failing to ensure the nation’s general election goes ahead.
Clerics said parliamentarians had approved legislation guaranteeing diplomatic passports for them and their families, as well as land and generous salaries and pensions, instead of ensuring a stalled electoral bill is passed.
Iraq’s presidential council, which normally rubber stamps legislation, said this week it twice opposed MPs’ attempts to secure the privileges but had been powerless to stop the law being approved at its third reading.
Under the law, an MP will have a monthly budget of around US$25,500, which includes a salary of US$8,450 and allowances for up to 30 staff, primarily security.
They will receive 80 percent of their MP salary as a pension for 10 years after they retire, as well as a plot of land of up 600m2, Baha al-Araji, a Sadrist MP and chair of the parliamentary committee responsible for shaping legislation said.
“Why is there not such unanimity on the election law?” cleric Sadr al-Din al-Qubanj asked, referring to legislation designed to regulate national polls planned for Jan. 16, which could yet be delayed because of parliamentary stalemate.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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